Police search for, recover 9-year-old girl

Published Jul 15, 2013 at 2:36 pm
(Updated Jul 15, 2013 at 2:36 pm)

A 9-year-old girl from Rochester, Pa., was missing in Cecil Township for about an hour July 14 after her parents became involved in an argument in their vehicle while traveling along Interstate 79, township police said.

After leaving the interstate, the driver stopped in a parking lot at 400 Southpointe Blvd., where the father gabbed the keys, gave them to the girl and told her run, police said.

The father, who was not identified, told police he saw her running, turned his head, and when he turned back, she was gone. Police were notified at 4:55 p.m.

The three Cecil Township fire departments were called in to assist in the search, and police requested the state police helicopter to do an aerial search, said township police Chief Shawn Bukovinsky.

About an hour after the girl disappeared, she was found walking along Southpointe Boulevard near Fairways Landing. She told police she ran and walked as far as the Homewood Suites, 3000 Horizon Vue Drive, also in Southpointe, and had turned around to return to the family’s vehicle.

Bukovinsky said the girl was checked by emergency services personnel and she did not require medical treatment.

The girl was returned to her father and stepmother. The family was traveling from Florida following a vacation, Bukovinsky said, and no charges were filed.